Features of cooking turkey. TOP 7 best step-by-step recipes for every day or for a special occasion. Video recipes.
Turkey recipes are tasty and healthy dishes that diversify the daily diet in an original way and successfully decorate the festive table. The traditional way to cook poultry is to bake it whole in the oven, however, with your imagination, you can make other dishes that will please the whole family.
Features of cooking turkey
Turkey meat is a unique product, as it is both nutritious and low-fat, that is, it is excellent for a dietary menu. At the same time, the poultry is very tasty, regardless of the method of preparation, and therefore many people like such dishes.
Turkey recipes are traditional for Americans and some European countries, and here, accordingly, they are most common, for example, this bird is definitely prepared for Christmas.
In cooking, turkey wings, fillets, drumsticks, thighs, and liver are also used; in addition, it can be baked whole or included in a salad. Delicious dishes can be prepared from minced meat - cutlets or meatballs.
The classic way to cook turkey at home is to bake it in the oven. Turkey meat turns out to be very juicy, but you can also improve its taste by making cuts in it and placing butter and various spices in it before sending it to the oven. When baking a whole turkey, it is stuffed with dried fruits or sour apples.
Also turkey meat is good in pots. The fillet is baked, generously sprinkled with grated cheese and mayonnaise.
Turkey is best combined with vegetables, bacon, cheese, rice, nuts, oranges, soy sauce, but it is also prepared with one very unusual ingredient - chestnuts. You can also make a marinade and leave the turkey in it for a while, this will help make it taste more piquant.
Note! Delicate meat requires special attention, as it is easy to dry out. To fully develop the flavor of the turkey, the recipe must be followed closely.
TOP 7 recipes for cooking turkey
Having cooked a turkey once, you will surely appreciate its taste and useful properties, and this bird will become a frequent guest on your table. In addition, there are so many recipes that each time it can be prepared differently.
Braised turkey with onions and herbs
The easiest turkey recipe, yet very tasty. Thanks to the use of butter, the poultry is tender and juicy, and cooking does not take much time. Therefore, such a dish may well take pride of place in your cookbook.
- Caloric content per 100 g - 79, 3 kcal.
- Servings - 4
- Cooking time - 1 hour
Ingredients:
- Turkey meat (fillet) - 500 g
- Bulb onions - 2 pcs.
- Vegetable oil - 2 tablespoons
- Butter - 30 g
- Allspice peas - 3 pcs.
- Ground black pepper - to taste
- Salt to taste
- Dill - 2 branches
- Parsley - 2 sprigs
Step by step cooking of stewed turkey with onions and herbs:
- First of all, we peel the onions. It should be cut into rings, and when using large fruits, into half rings.
- Cut the turkey meat, peeled from films, and send it to a frying pan with preheated vegetable oil.
- Next, lay out the chopped onion, salt and mix.
- Make the heat medium and fry the fillets for a couple of minutes, until a light crust forms.
- Pepper, add butter and wait until it melts.
- Pour in a glass of water and cook the turkey in a skillet according to the recipe for 1 hour, reducing the heat to medium. It is recommended to stew turkey meat under a closed lid. Do not forget to stir periodically.
- After cooking the turkey in a pan, sprinkle the dish with chopped dill and parsley.
Turkey Chops with Cheese Crust
Chops made from turkey fillets surpass chicken ones not only in taste, but also in useful properties. They turn out to be juicy and tender, despite the crispy cheese breading, which just gives the dish a zest and makes it more appetizing. The chops are perfect if the fillets are fresh, not thawed.
Ingredients:
- Turkey fillet - 600 g
- Hard cheese - 50 g
- Eggs - 2 pcs.
- Flour - 3 tablespoons
- Salt - 0.5 tsp
- Ground pepper (mixture of peppers) - to taste
- Vegetable oil for frying - 3 tablespoons
- Fresh dill - 2-3 branches
- Pickled or fresh vegetables - to taste
Step-by-step preparation of cheese crust chops:
- We drive eggs into a container and, after adding salt, beat using a whisk.
- Grind the cheese into a grater with small holes.
- Combine the beaten egg mass with the cheese.
- Next, cut the fillets so that the slices are about 1 cm thick.
- Before you cook your turkey deliciously, wrap the meat in plastic wrap. Now you need to carefully beat it off. Turn the hammer straight side to avoid damaging the structure of the turkey.
- Having salted and pepper the fillet, you can start cooking.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and start laying out the chops, which should first be rolled on both sides in flour and dipped in an egg-cheese mixture.
- You need to fry the chops for a couple of minutes, making the heat medium, after which they are turned over to the other side and fried the same amount.
- When ready, they are laid out on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
- Garnish the cheese-breaded chops with fresh herbs before serving the turkey platter.
Chopped turkey cutlets
As an alternative to the traditional recipe, we suggest making flavorful and juicy chopped cutlets that go well with any side dish. It's also a great option if you don't have a meat grinder or time to grind turkey meat. As a rule, such a dish requires the participation of mayonnaise, but it will be more useful to replace it with sour cream.
Ingredients:
- Turkey thigh fillet - 700 g
- Eggs - 2 pcs.
- Sour cream - 2 tablespoons
- Flour - 2-3 tbsp.
- Onion - 1 large head
- Garlic - 4-5 cloves
- Fresh dill - 5-6 branches
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Vegetable oil - for frying
Step by step preparation of chopped turkey cutlets:
- First of all, grind the turkey meat into cubes, salt and pepper.
- Break the egg into meat and mix thoroughly.
- Next, add sour cream.
- Peel the onion, cut into cubes and add to the same place.
- Pass the peeled garlic through a press, chop the dill with a knife, add it to the meat preparation.
- At the next stage of cooking juicy turkey cutlets, add flour. We pour it in gently in portions and mix thoroughly so that it does not get lost in lumps.
- Having prepared everything, leave the container for 40 minutes.
- After the specified time, heat the vegetable oil in a pan, and you can start cooking chopped turkey cutlets. We shape them with a spoon, like pancakes, and fry for a couple of minutes, until they turn golden.
- Turn over to the other side and cook the same amount until golden brown.
Turkey beef stroganoff in sour cream-tomato sauce
Turkey beef stroganoff is a fillet cut into long strips, fried until golden brown with onions and stewed in sour cream-tomato sauce, making the meat tender and aromatic. Despite the seeming complexity of cooking, this recipe for a turkey dish will have to be done even by a novice housewife. Serve with any side dish and fresh vegetables.
Ingredients:
- Turkey fillet - 250-300 g
- Onions - 50 g
- Sour cream - 100 ml
- Tomato paste - 1 tablespoon
- Vegetable oil - 2-3 tablespoons
- Flour - 2 tablespoons
- Salt - 1/3 tsp (taste)
- Ground black pepper - 1/5 tsp (taste)
- Fresh parsley - to taste
Step-by-step preparation of turkey beef stroganoff in sour cream-tomato sauce:
- We wash and dry the fillets using paper napkins, cut into long strips.
- Cut the onion peeled from the husk into half rings.
- Pour a spoonful of flour into it to bread the onion.
- Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the onion for a couple of minutes, until it turns golden brown.
- Breaded the juicy turkey in another container, adding flour.
- Remove the onion and fry the turkey, making the heat medium. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown.
- Add the cooked onion to the turkey, pour in the sour cream with tomato paste, salt and pepper.
- Stir well and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer the turkey beef stroganoff for 10-12 minutes, making the heat slow.
Turkey boiled pork
Turkey is much lighter and healthier than pork, so why not make pork from turkey. Moreover, it will be very tasty. You can bake for a family dinner, and make for receiving guests.
Ingredients:
- Turkey thigh fillet - 1 kg
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Garlic - 3-9 cloves
- Spices
- Lemon - a few slices of lemon
Step by step cooking turkey pork:
- If you bought a frozen fillet, you must first defrost it.
- Rinse the meat under running water and cut the veins.
- We peel the garlic from the husk, chop some into pieces - we will use them to stuff the boiled pork. Chop the remaining garlic using a fine mesh grater.
- Salt and pepper the turkey, and then, after making cuts with a knife, stuff the meat with garlic. Add some grated garlic on top.
- Divide the turkey portion into 2 parts and wrap each of them in foil folded in several layers. Do not forget to tamp the briquettes tightly, otherwise, when cutting the boiled pork, it may fall apart.
- Preheat the oven and send the briquettes, laid out in the baking dish, there.
- Cook at 200 ° C for 1 hour.
- After the indicated time, turn off and leave the turkey pork in the oven for another 20 minutes. And when it is completely cool, put it in the refrigerator.
Turkey rolls with mushrooms and cheese
Turkey rolls with mushrooms are an original dish that turns out to be incredibly appetizing and aromatic. It is able not only to diversify the daily menu, but also to successfully decorate the festive table. Try to cook it too!
Ingredients:
- Turkey breast - 500 g
- Champignons - 130 g
- Hard cheese - 70 g
- Mayonnaise - 2 tablespoons
- Garlic - 1 clove
- Fresh parsley - 2-3 sprigs
- Butter - 10 g
- Vegetable oil - 3 tablespoons
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground pepper (mix) - to taste
Step by step preparation of turkey rolls with mushrooms and cheese:
- We cut the washed breast along the fibers so that the layers are 7 mm wide.
- We place each of them on cling film and cover with it, after which the fillets must be beaten off using a kitchen hammer, and then rubbed with salt and pepper.
- Cut the mushrooms and fry in hot vegetable oil until all the liquid has evaporated.
- After adding butter, fry the mushrooms for a couple of minutes, until they become golden brown. We remove from the stove and wait until they cool down.
- Grind the cheese using a coarse grater.
- Chop the peeled garlic with a knife, and then chop the herbs, add to the mushrooms and mix everything with the cheese.
- Salt and pepper the workpiece.
- Having greased each layer of fillet with mayonnaise, spread the filling from one edge and wrap the turkey roll.
- We take a dense thread and fix it so that it does not lose its shape.
- Transfer the rolls to the pan and fry until golden brown.
- Then you need to pour in a little water and simmer for 10 minutes, making the fire minimal.
- Be sure to remove the threads before serving the turkey roll with cheese and mushrooms.
Whole baked turkey
The main dish of Americans on the table on Thanksgiving Day, but the recipe for a turkey baked in the oven is also useful for our hostesses, because it can also be served on the festive table or even for no reason during evening gatherings with the family.
Ingredients:
- Turkey (whole carcass) - 1 pc. (about 6 kg)
- Butter - 200 g (for aromatic butter)
- Fresh ginger - 1/4 tbsp. (for aromatic oil)
- Fresh parsley leaves - 2 tablespoons (for aromatic oil)
- Shallots - 2 tablespoons (for aromatic oil)
- Fresh sage - 1 tbsp (for aromatic oil)
- Ground juniper berries - 1 tbsp. (for aromatic oil)
- Fresh thyme - 1 tablespoon (for aromatic oil)
- Garlic - 2 tsp (for aromatic oil)
- Fresh rosemary - 2 tsp (for aromatic oil)
- Salt - 3, 5-4, 5 tbsp. (for marinade)
- Granulated sugar - 3 tbsp. + 3 tbsp (for marinade)
- Ground black pepper - 2/3 tbsp. (for marinade)
- Fresh sprigs of rosemary - 70 g (for marinade)
- Fresh thyme sprigs - 70 g (for marinade)
- Chicken broth - 1 tbsp (for the sauce)
- Unsalted butter - 4 tablespoons (for the sauce)
- Flour - 2/3 tbsp. (for the sauce)
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
How to prepare a whole baked turkey step by step:
- Beforehand, in 1 day we will make a fragrant butter, thoroughly mixing butter, chopped ginger and shallots. Add sage, parsley, juniper, rosemary and thyme to the resulting mass. We will peel and pass the garlic through a press, send it there.
- 4 tablespoons put the butter in a separate bowl and put it in the refrigerator, covering with a lid. Leave the rest at room temperature to keep it soft.
- According to the recipe for a turkey in the oven, it should be marinated one day before it is supposed to be cooked. Pour 10 liters of water into a saucepan, add sugar, add salt and pepper. Throw rosemary and thyme there. After placing the turkey in the marinade so that it covers it completely, place the weight on top. The bird should not float up. Leave the turkey in this position for 4-6 hours.
- After the indicated time, we take out the bird and, gently wiping it with a paper towel, move the skin away from the carcass. We act so that it does not break. Now we take the fragrant oil and begin to distribute it under the skin.
- Next, tie the wings and legs and put the turkey on the wire rack. Put it in the brazier in turn and send the structure to the refrigerator. It is recommended to withstand it for a day, but if time does not allow, then at least 6 hours.
- After the time has elapsed, preheat the oven to 180 ° C, and pour the turkey with fragrant oil, which is glass.
- Pour water into the bottom of the brazier so that it does not touch the bird. Cover the turkey with foil on top.
- We put the brazier in the oven and bake for at least 2 hours, then remove the foil and continue cooking for another 1 hour.
- When ready, we take out the bird and, putting it on a cutting board, leave it for half an hour. It is recommended to cover it again with foil.
- In the meantime, let's start preparing the sauce for the delicious turkey. We filter the juice from the brazier, remove the fat that has risen from it, select two glasses from the remaining mass, which we mix with a glass of chicken broth and the same amount of water.
- Melt the reserved fragrant butter and add the usual butter to it. Stir and add flour in portions, begin to fry until the mass acquires a golden color. We cook for a couple of minutes.
- Next, pour the diluted aromatic oil into the mixture formed and bring to a boil. Reducing heat, cook for 5 minutes. Stir the mass constantly so that it does not burn.
- Season with salt and pepper, and you can serve the baked turkey with the sauce.